Lily Okamoto
By invitation. In English. Unhurried.
I am a practising artist. I live in Iga — a small mountain town known for its clay, its silence, and very little else. My studio sits between rice fields. I paint there, slowly.
Several times a year, I show work in Paris, Basel, Amsterdam, and Madrid. The rest of the time, I walk Kyoto.
I have spent years building quiet relationships with the city's gallerists, curators, and artisans — not as a guide, but as a fellow artist. When I bring someone into these spaces, the door opens differently.
This is what I offer: a day inside a Kyoto that isn't available to visitors. Seen through the eyes of someone who makes art, and lives among it.
No two days are the same. I compose each one around you — what you collect, what catches your eye, what you've never seen before.
A day with me might move through:
— A former machiya on the antique dealers' street, now home to a gallery with Art Basel pedigree
— A ceramics museum where a Living National Treasure's work hangs in near-silence
— A single-room bookshop with thirty years of out-of-print Japanese photography
— A temple garden that reframes everything you saw that morning
I receive no commission from any gallery. My only bias is my own eye.
We begin at your hotel. We end when the day feels complete.
Contemporary artist. Painter, drawer, bookmaker.
Exhibited internationally — Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid, Hamburg, Basel. Represented in private collections across Europe and the United States.
Former international cabin crew — a decade of movement between cultures, languages, and sensibilities, before choosing stillness and a studio in rural Japan.
Now based between Iga and Kyoto. Moving between earth and gallery, silence and conversation, the deeply local and the international.
— Private. Limited to four guests.
— Five hours.
— Conducted in English.
— Private chauffeur, door to door.
— A curated gallery guide, prepared for your visit.
Pricing is available upon inquiry.
A private day spent with contemporary artist Lily Okamoto exploring Kyoto's galleries, museums, and cultural spaces. Each day is composed around your interests — from contemporary art galleries to ceramics museums to temple gardens.
Yes. All private art days are conducted entirely in English by Lily Okamoto, a bilingual contemporary artist based in Japan.
No. Lily receives no commission from any gallery. Her selections are based entirely on artistic merit and guest interests, ensuring unbiased recommendations.
Each private art day includes five hours with Lily Okamoto, private chauffeur transportation door-to-door from your hotel, and a printed gallery guide prepared in advance.
Share a few words about yourself — what draws you, what you collect, when you'll be in Kyoto. I'll respond personally.